Strangers on a Train
by OtakuSailorV
Summary: HowlSpirited Xover As the train pulled away, she would have sworn she saw the castle on the hill start to move, but that was ridiculous... implied ChihiroHaku HowlSophie, OneShot


Strangers on a Train

By: OtakuSailorV

Chihiro fidgeted uneasily in her seat. It was taking a long time to get to Zeniba's house and she was worried about Haku back at the bathhouse. Kamaji had said that Haku should be fine now that he had taken the River Spirit's medicine but Chihiro was still worried.

No Face sat silently beside her; the Bo mouse and bird-gnat sat by the window, watching the glassy-smooth water extend out to infinity all around the train they traveled on.

The other passengers were strange, or so Chihiro thought to herself. All but she and her friends were inky black figures with two startlingly white holes in their heads where their eyes should have been. They were nearly see-through and they didn't make any noise in their coming and going. They were all like this, save for one woman who sat nearby in a corner at the back, looking straight ahead blankly.

She had silver hair and a stiff-looking beautiful blue dress. She had a straw sun hat on, covering her short silver hair somewhat. She was petite and pretty; she looked like a very refined woman to the young Chihiro. Her clothes were sure strange though.

Chihiro switched her gaze to the extent of water that surrounded the train. It was so weird to look at the world like that. She had been to the ocean before, but this was much different. To be completely surrounded by water on all sides, extending out into infinity. The water was smooth and could have been mistaken for land if it did not ripple every so often as the train traced gently through it despite its speed. Land rose every once and a while from the smooth glass-like ocean, rearing through what seemed like a misty haze in the distance. A thin strip of land always connected to the landmass out in the middle of the ocean, guiding those coming and going to the train station.

It was almost nostalgic, watching those shadowy children - miniatures of those riding the train – look silently upward at the train as it passed, only to vanish in an instant and be forgotten.

When they had passed the third stop, Chihiro glanced back at the silver-haired woman that was seated calmly in her seat. She blinked as the train slowly rolled to a halt. She seemed to hear the stationmaster's silent call to disembark and began to gather her things. She did not have much; a simple suitcase and a knobby looking stick. Chihiro was sure that she was not in need of the cane, but she seemed to have some kind of attachment to it.

Looking out at her stop, Chihiro could see a valley full of flowers, the path leading to which was covered in lush green grass that sprung from the rich earth. There seemed to be the dark outline of a castle against the horizon, or rather, Chihiro assumed it was a castle. It was really just a mass of indistinguishable shapes that she supposed were the makings of a castle.

Outside, waiting on the stone platform was a tall, slender young man with short black hair. He had beautiful, sparkling eyes and a bright smile on his face. On the shoulder of the young man, Chihiro spotted a strange looking red orb that flared like a piece of fire. She wondered what it was, for there were distinguishable markings on the flaming orb as if it had a face. By his side was a little boy with dark red hair and an excited smile on. He was waiting expectantly for the woman to get off the train. The young man's eyes were glued on the young woman that had gotten to her feet and was prepared to disembark.

Getting up the courage, Chihiro bowed her head as the young woman passed. "H-Have a nice trip," she said, hoping that the woman had not just come back from her trip.

Startled by her sudden words, the woman whirled about and gave Chihiro a soft smile. "Thank you, you too," she replied. She had a funny accent.

With that she was off the train. She hugged the young man tightly and then bent to give a hug to the little boy that clung at her dress. She was speaking, but Chihiro couldn't hear her words. The flaming orb flew about and then took off toward the lumpy castle-shape. Holding hands with the young man, the three of them turned about and headed down the grassy lane to the valley of flowers.

As the train pulled away, Chihiro thought she saw the castle on the hill move, but that was ridiculous…

* * *

Implied ChihiroHaku and SophieHowl. Characters OOC? I meant it to be longer and with more Ghibli movies incorporated, but it felt like I was just dragging it out, so its just a Howl'sSpirited crossover. Heehee, it's my first time writing for either, and I feel rather...foolish. I'm always obsessing over characterization and I was tempted to go back and watch the movies before writing this.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far and I hope you enjoyed! Ja'ne!

Review Please?


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